Heritage Action Defends Sequester Against Paul Ryan The Big Spender

Can someone explain to me why he ever got a reputation as a fiscal conservative? The Hill reports,

The key conservative group Heritage Action on Monday warned that it will oppose any budget deal that reverses sequestration cuts in exchange for “inadequate” spending cuts later.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are trying to complete a small budget deal this week and have discussed using cuts scored over 10 years to pay for increased spending in 2014 and 2015.

“Heritage Action cannot support a budget deal that would increase spending in the near-term for promises of woefully inadequate long-term reductions. While imperfect, the sequester has proven to be an effective tool in forcing Congress to reduce discretionary spending, and a gimmicky, spend-now-cut-later deal will take our nation in the wrong direction,” the group said in a statement.

The 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA), though imperfect, was effective in cutting discretionary spending, and a budget that breaks the caps set by it is unacceptable. Yet, there is mounting pressure from appropriators to replace part of automatic spending cuts put in place by the BCA. Meanwhile, many Democrats are seeking to reverse the sequester on their “favored domestic programs,” like transportation, housing and the ineffective Head Start program.

Reading Politico.com’s recent story, it seems amazing that suddenly it is OK for the GOP to join the Dems as the tax and spend party. We probably all knew that was always true to some extent, but it seems almost brazen now.

But with the year winding to a close, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are nearing a modest, yet important, budget deal that senior aides say could be rolled out as soon as Tuesday and voted on later this week.

The lawmakers’ progress begs asking: How have Murray and Ryan — nothing short of complete ideological foils — found themselves on the brink of an agreement that’s eluded Washington since 2011?

No, what “begs asking” is why the American people are so gullible as to accept that these two are ideological foes when they are both working together against conservatives.

Even worse, rather than capitalizing on Obamacare to achieve victory, Ryan is using the distraction to free him in his work: “…with most of the press focused on Obamacare’s woes, Ryan, Murray and their staffs have had the space to try to hash out an agreement.”

The talks have sought to set spending levels closer to $1 trillion, an uptick from the $967 billion in outlays for 2014. The deal will also set spending levels for 2015

I think it is really simple: If you want to destroy the economic future of the United States, then stand by and support Paul Ryan in his work. But if you care about our economic survival, then the only change that can be permitted from the sequester is to make deeper cuts.

The sequester should be a bare minimum in how much needs to be cut from government spending.